mac OS Big Sur

[rob berry]

My 2014 iMac is running version 11.7.5 of Big Sur. I tried updating to Ventura but got a message saying my hardware was not compatible. The Mac is running perfectly well and the concern I have is that once Big Sur is no longer supported or updated with security patches I may not be able to upgrade the hardware and be forced to buy a new Mac.
Is this the only option I'd have?
Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

 

[IWT]

According to Apple, Big Sur is as far as you can go. Even Monterey is not compatible:

macOS Monterey is compatible with these computers – Apple Support (UK)

You can install macOS Monterey on any of these Mac models.

support.apple.com

In answer to the main issue:

A lot depends on the complexity of the work you do - for example apps you work with now may not allow the later versions or drop support altogether.

New, innovative apps are constantly being offered and they are most unlikely to be backward compatible.

From the security point of view; again this is related to the kind of things you do. Heavy-duty searching of the internet is rather different from reading the daily news, looking at sports' results and the like.

You will never be "forced" to buy a new Mac. It won't suddenly stop working (unless through a critical logic board or other catastrophe). Lots of our members here run "old" Macs with dated Operating Systems.

Hope that general summary may help you.

Ian

 

[rob berry]

According to Apple, Big Sur is as far as you can go. Even Monterey is not compatible:

macOS Monterey is compatible with these computers – Apple Support (UK)

You can install macOS Monterey on any of these Mac models.

support.apple.com

In answer to the main issue:

A lot depends on the complexity of the work you do - for example apps you work with now may not allow the later versions or drop support altogether.

New, innovative apps are constantly being offered and they are most unlikely to be backward compatible.

From the security point of view; again this is related to the kind of things you do. Heavy-duty searching of the internet is rather different from reading the daily news, looking at sports' results and the like.

You will never be "forced" to buy a new Mac. It won't suddenly stop working (unless through a critical logic board or other catastrophe). Lots of our members here run "old" Macs with dated Operating Systems.

Hope that general summary may help you.

Ian

Hello Ian

Thank you very much for your answers to my questions, they are all understood and very much appreciated.

It's good to know that I'm likely to have more time than I had perhaps believed before my iMac needs to be replaced. I would consider myself a fairly light user and there are no specific apps that I rely on so that deals with the first potential issue.

In terms of my internet usage again I'd consider myself a lightweight user.

I'm very relieved to hear that many members of the forum are running old Macs with dated operating systems. With a bit of luck I should have a few more years before I face the issue I feared might be just round the corner.

Robert

 

[Lifeisabeach]

For your usage, I wouldn't worry about keeping up-to-date with hardware just to have the latest macOS version. You are best focusing on making sure your web browser is up-to-date. The current version of Safari is 16.4, which is still compatible with Big Sur. Now if/when a future version of Safari is no longer compatible with Big Sur, not all is lost. You can change browsers to something like Brave, which is a privacy-focused web browser that is based on Chrome and should be supported longer for Big Sur. I would also make sure you are using a good ad blocker. Brave has one built in. I like AdGuard for Mac. Others have their favorites. Just be sensible in what you do. Standing advice is to only get software from "trusted" sources and avoid sketchy developers, but that's easier to say than to explain. Generally speaking, get your software direct from the developer, not 3rd parties like MacUpdate.com. And most certainly don't trust "review" sites that tout cleaning and antivirus software... they are all shills and full of baloney.

 

[Rod]

I think that your main concern will be the old adage, "Its not if your hard drive will die but when." Do ensure that your valuable data is backed up. The Native Time Machine app is built in and free, for the price of a good quality HDD External Hard drive about twice the size of your internal storage will be fine to ensure that when your HD does fail that you will be able to transfer it to your new device.

As for Security, if you are concerned you can swap to a different browser that has better built in security features such as Brave browser or even FireFox both of which have current anti tracking and ad blocking features that will run on macOS Monterey. See this link; How to download macOS

Personally I preferred Monterey to Big Sur but do read up on the features and changes before you update and definitely do a full backup before upgrading. macOS Monterey - New Features

 

[rob berry]

For your usage, I wouldn't worry about keeping up-to-date with hardware just to have the latest macOS version. You are best focusing on making sure your web browser is up-to-date. The current version of Safari is 16.4, which is still compatible with Big Sur. Now if/when a future version of Safari is no longer compatible with Big Sur, not all is lost. You can change browsers to something like Brave, which is a privacy-focused web browser that is based on Chrome and should be supported longer for Big Sur. I would also make sure you are using a good ad blocker. Brave has one built in. I like AdGuard for Mac. Others have their favorites. Just be sensible in what you do. Standing advice is to only get software from "trusted" sources and avoid sketchy developers, but that's easier to say than to explain. Generally speaking, get your software direct from the developer, not 3rd parties like MacUpdate.com. And most certainly don't trust "review" sites that tout cleaning and antivirus software... they are all shills and full of baloney.

Thanks for your reply and I updated to Safari 16.4 just the other day. I generally use Chrome for browsing so when later versions of Safari become incompatible with Big Sur I'll follow your advice.
Completely agree with you regarding software source and do only get it from trusted sources. I also ignore review sites as they are just as you say!

Robert

 

[rob berry]

I think that your main concern will be the old adage, "Its not if your hard drive will die but when." Do ensure that your valuable data is backed up. The Native Time Machine app is built in and free, for the price of a good quality HDD External Hard drive about twice the size of your internal storage will be fine to ensure that when your HD does fail that you will be able to transfer it to your new device.

As for Security, if you are concerned you can swap to a different browser that has better built in security features such as Brave browser or even FireFox both of which have current anti tracking and ad blocking features that will run on macOS Monterey. See this link; How to download macOS

Personally I preferred Monterey to Big Sur but do read up on the features and changes before you update and definitely do a full backup before upgrading. macOS Monterey - New Features

Hi Rod

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated. I take your point about the inevitability of the hard drive failing at some point. It would be great if I was able to swap the drive for a solid state one but that doesn't seem to be an option which is a shame. I do back up my data using Time Machine with a 6TB Seagate external drive so hopefully when the drive does fail I won't lose any data of value.

I hadn't heard of Brave but am aware of Firefox. I'll take a look at these and see if either of them may work better for me than Chrome or Safari.

Robert

 

[Raz0rEdge]

This is a common dilemma that folks with Macs end up with. The machines perform so well for so long that people tend to keep the hardware as it is, but the software demands continue to rise and at some point the hardware is unable to meet the requirements and ends up being left behind.

Your 2014 Mac is now nearly 10 years old. That's a good run for any machine. The newer hardware is so much better and capable that once you reach the kind of limit that you've reached, upgrading is the best option.

I've seen people fall into two categories here. 1) Folks like yourself use the machine until it is no longer supported, recycle the machine and purchase a new one, 2) folks that decide to upgrade very 2 generations or so such that they can recoup some of the cost of the machine to put against the newer machine.

The latter also caters to the fact that your computing needs are evolving or continually demand the latest software/hardware. If that isn't the case, most folks end up in the former case. The downside being when it's time to upgrade, you have to fork over the entire cost of a new machine without being able to defray the costs by selling your current machine.

 

[rob berry]

This is a common dilemma that folks with Macs end up with. The machines perform so well for so long that people tend to keep the hardware as it is, but the software demands continue to rise and at some point the hardware is unable to meet the requirements and ends up being left behind.

Your 2014 Mac is now nearly 10 years old. That's a good run for any machine. The newer hardware is so much better and capable that once you reach the kind of limit that you've reached, upgrading is the best option.

I've seen people fall into two categories here. 1) Folks like yourself use the machine until it is no longer supported, recycle the machine and purchase a new one, 2) folks that decide to upgrade very 2 generations or so such that they can recoup some of the cost of the machine to put against the newer machine.

The latter also caters to the fact that your computing needs are evolving or continually demand the latest software/hardware. If that isn't the case, most folks end up in the former case. The downside being when it's time to upgrade, you have to fork over the entire cost of a new machine without being able to defray the costs by selling your current machine.

Hello Ashwin and thanks for your reply.

Yes I agree with you about how well Apple hardware lasts and my iMac is doing just fine for now so I'll be keeping it a while yet.

I agree with you that an upgrade is the only real way to go. I had a look on the Apple UK website to see if it has any trade-in value for a new iMac but it identified my machine has no trade-in value but "is suitable for re-cycling". A cynic might suggest "they would say this wouldn't they" but I think this is the inevitable fact for all technology - it has its heyday, fades a bit but still works fine, then eventually becomes just too old to be able to run the latest software.

I will be looking at upgrading within the next couple of years and hopefully, if it's still working OK for what you might call basic computing work, I'll wipe the hard drive and donate it to one of the growing charitable technology recycling organisations that are becoming popular in the UK.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Generally I've found that you can make a decent return on your investment if you stay within a couple of years of the model. You can make more selling it privately than through a trade-in for sure.

I know of one individual who upgrades on EVERY generation upgrade, so they only keep their Mac for about a year or so before upgrading. Due to this, they take very good care of the machine and usually end up getting about 80%+ of the cost back with the sale.

This has allowed them to purchase more expensive variants of the mac than having to fork over the full cost of it. This can, of course, be quite disruptive to constantly migrate stuff, but they care more about being on the latest hardware than anything else.

Essentially, they upgrade Macs like a lot of folks upgrade iPhones every year.

In your case, while the lack of security updates is a given, you aren't suddenly going to become vulnerable to things. So continue using your machine, continue to use common sense about what you install on there and you'll be fine.

 

[rob berry]

Generally I've found that you can make a decent return on your investment if you stay within a couple of years of the model. You can make more selling it privately than through a trade-in for sure.

I know of one individual who upgrades on EVERY generation upgrade, so they only keep their Mac for about a year or so before upgrading. Due to this, they take very good care of the machine and usually end up getting about 80%+ of the cost back with the sale.

This has allowed them to purchase more expensive variants of the mac than having to fork over the full cost of it. This can, of course, be quite disruptive to constantly migrate stuff, but they care more about being on the latest hardware than anything else.

Essentially, they upgrade Macs like a lot of folks upgrade iPhones every year.

In your case, while the lack of security updates is a given, you aren't suddenly going to become vulnerable to things. So continue using your machine, continue to use common sense about what you install on there and you'll be fine.

I hadn't looked at it that way but do see the point and certainly selling it privately will see a better return than trading it in.

My iPhone is an 11 so I'm definitely not into replacing this piece of hardware every year. The one thing I have noticed over several iPhones over the years is that the battery doesn't seem to last so long. I realise that with greater functionality, and leaving the device on 24/7 will inevitably have an impact on the battery.

Nonetheless it would be good to see battery technology improve significantly, as it is starting to do in the EV market.

Thanks again for taking the time to provide helpful advice it really is appreciated.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

I hadn't looked at it that way but do see the point and certainly selling it privately will see a better return than trading it in.

My iPhone is an 11 so I'm definitely not into replacing this piece of hardware every year. The one thing I have noticed over several iPhones over the years is that the battery doesn't seem to last so long. I realise that with greater functionality, and leaving the device on 24/7 will inevitably have an impact on the battery.

MBP's have a similar issue with the batteries, as it ages out, it has to be replaced. Even with iPhones people can keep the older models by just replacing the batteries. Apple even has a replacement plan to accommodate those folks.

Nonetheless it would be good to see battery technology improve significantly, as it is starting to do in the EV market.

Thanks again for taking the time to provide helpful advice it really is appreciated.

The batteries have gotten way better and will continue to evolve..